But every once in a while the biggest pitch of the year is thrown by someone more obscure.

Either it is a spot starter pitching the game of his life…
Or a middle reliever thrown into the fire…
Or a starter coming out of the pen…
Or in a few instances the World Series was clinched by a pitcher who started the season in the minor leagues.

So let’s salute the pitchers who got to have the highlight of a lifetime… and were almost as unlikely to have that moment as me!

The first year in the Bronx, they won their first ever title. And which legend clinched title #1?

Jones, a 21 game winner who came out of the bullpen to throw the final two innings of Game 6 against the Giants. In a few years he led the league in losses and never pitched like an elite pitcher again.

There will be many more Yankee titles, but Jones clinched the first one.

Without a doubt the single most obscure pitcher to ever clinch a World Series. He was in the minor leagues at the beginning of 1925. He didn’t pitch at all in the World Series until the 9th inning of the 7th game. All he had to do was face Hall of Famers Sam Rice, Bucky Harris and Goose Goslin with just a 2 run lead. He got them in order and he saved Game 7 of the World Series.

The next year he was back in the minors. After 1926 he never pitched in the bigs again.

He struggled through obscure teams for years, sitting next to minor leaguers who would never make it. I wonder if he ever brought up clinching the World Series during those minor league games.

Usually relief ace “Fordham” Johnny Murphy would get the honors to close out a series for the Yankees in the late 30s and early 40s. Or perhaps a Hall of Famer like Lefty Gomez or Red Ruffing.

But in 1941, Tiny Bonham had the honor. He threw a complete game victory in Game 5 against the Dodgers to seal the title.

Bonham was a terrific rookie in 1940 and had a solid 1941 and became an All Star by 1942. But he struggled in the post war years. Then in 1949 as a member of the Pirates, he died during an appendectomy.

Both Beazley and Wilks were on the 1946 Cardinals team. They were also quite rested during Game 7 of the World Series when the Cardinals were protecting a 2 run 8th inning lead.

Brecheen had thrown a complete game victory just 2 days prior. But it was Brecheen who got the ball in the 8th. The Red Sox would rally to tie the game, but the Cardinals took the lead on Slaughter’s mad dash.

When he shut down the Red Sox in the 9th, Brecheen became the first pitcher to win Game 6 and 7 of the same World Series.

Don Larsen was the hero of the 1956 World Series, but it was the responsibilty of 22 year old Kucks to close the series out.

He had made some World Series relief appearances, but Game 7 in Brooklyn was his first ever World Series start. He responded with a complete game shutout, ending the last World Series game ever played in Brooklyn.

The New Jersey native (and friend of my uncle’s) won 18 games that year, but never again won more than 8 and five years later was out of baseball.

The Yankees of the 1950s and 1960s had their superstars and Hall of Famers. But they also had a steady stream of roll players who came up big in October.

Joining the Johnny Kucks and Bob Kuzava’s of the world is Bud Daley, whom the Yankees acquired from the A’s midway through the 1961 season.

He was unimpressive in the regular season but came up big in October.

When Ralph Terry couldn’t make it out of the third inning, Daley came in to relieve. He threw 6 1/3 innings with no earned runs. He got Vada Pinson to fly out to Hector Lopez to clinch the World Series.

A’s manager Dick Williams didn’t use Knowles in the 1973 ALCS. Let’s just say he made up for it in the World Series.

For whatever reason Knowles, a good pitcher who made the 1969 All Star team with the Senators, became Williams’ go to guy. He appeared in the first 6 games of the Series against the Mets, saving Game 1.

It looked like Rollie Fingers would have the honor of closing out the World Series in Game 7, but Gene Tenace made a 2 out error in the 9th that put the tying run at the plate. Knowles came in and got Wayne Garrett to pop up to clinch the series.

To date, Knowles is the only pitcher to appear in all 7 games of a 7 game series.

Yes… THAT Mike Torrez. Most people associate Torrez with the Yankees 1978 title… mainly because as a member of the Red Sox he served up Bucky Dent’s homer. (Some people in Boston felt he was a double agent.)

He had a more direct impact on the 1977 title by throwing two complete game wins in the World Series for the Yankees.

The Dodgers touched him for some runs at the beginning of the clinching 6th game, but he received all the run support he needed from Reggie Jackson’s three homers.

Jackson and Torrez are linked in another way: When Reggie was traded from the A’s to Baltimore, Oakland got a package of players in return including Torrez.

In 2004, Jenks looked like a dopey fat minor league pitcher in the Angels system who was blowing his big chance. Repeatedly drunk, hung over or bringing beer on the team bus, and was cut from their AA team at the end of the season.

That’s a terrible way to end a season.
Do you know what a better way to end a season is? Recording the last out of the World Series in a thrilling 1-0 game, ending an 88 year drought for a proud franchise.

Picked up by the White Sox and sent to AA, he made his big league debut in July. When closer Dustin Hermanson hurt his back, Jenks became the closer.

He closed out the Astros in Game 4 and gave Chicago a World Championship for the first time since 1917.

When the Cardinals limped into the 2006 post season with 83 wins, they started the playoffs without a closer. Jason Isringhausen had hip surgery and Adam Wainwright, who was in the minor leagues in 2005, was pressed into closing duty.

He closed out the Division Series against the Padres and then threw a franchise crushing called third strike against the Mets Carlos Beltran in the NLCS.

He then closed out the World Series against the Tigers.

I am sure when the season began his goals basically were “stay on the team.”

I wonder if “Clinch the World Series and be forever etched into Cardinals lore” crossed his mind.

Of course Adam Wainwright became an All Star starter and later clinched a Division Series with a complete game. But going into the 2006 post season, he was as anonymous as they come.

MIKE MONTGOMERY, Chicago Cubs – 2016 World Series

Who would get the moment that all Cub fans dreamed of? Who would be the pitcher that finally threw the final pitch of a Cub title?

For a while it looked like it would domestic abuser Aroldis Chapman, which would have put a nasty taste on such a cherished moment. But he blew it. Then string bean Carl Edwards Jr. failed to add his name to this list. Then out came Mike Montgomery.

Mike Montgomery was on the Mariners in mid July. He had zero career big league saves. He had zero MINOR league saves. Naturally he came in with the World Series on the line.

He got Michael Martinez to ground out and the Cubs had their moment. And a player picked up in an obscure mid season deal sealed the dream day for Cub fans of all generations. Not a bad first save!